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A new era begins for Sion on Sunday in Vaduz. The Valais are still licking their wounds after relegation to the Challenge League, sports director Barth Constantin (28) admits: “I think about relegation every day. It’s like the lost cup final in 2017. That was six years ago, but it’s still there.”
Six weeks ago, Sion failed in the jump-off against Stade-Lausanne-Ouchy. “That changes everything,” says Constantin junior. The budget of the first team was cut by a third. “We had to save in many places. We have canceled a number of contracts in the offices. The wave of layoffs is not over yet.”
Now Sion relies on its Valais roots
Is immediate revival a goal? “No”, Constantine emphasises. After many years with expensive players, many coaches and little success, Sion now has to become a locally anchored club again. “We really want to cut. We now have seven players who come from our descendants. Those are the values we want to build this team on.”
If you listen to Barth Constantin, you might come to the conclusion that there is something good about the descent. “I don’t see it that way. We deserve to be where we are now. Now we have to learn the lessons,” says President CC’s son.
From now on, more Valais talents will land and play in the tourbillon. But with Mario Balotelli (32), the antithesis of its own youth development and the symbol of relegation is still a player of Sion.
Is Balotelli training for a Sion comeback?
“Balotelli is currently still under contract with us,” says the sports director. “He is training away from the team to get back in shape. Whether it is for Sion or another club, it is important that we see him again at the highest level.”
Balotelli against Nyon and Baden, whose annual budgets reach around 2.8 million euros? Unlikely. But Constantin is not ruling out a Balotelli comeback in the Challenge League: “Everything can go very fast in football, one way or the other.”
But in reality it is now players like newcomer Ali Kabalcalman (27), who grew up in Valais and recently graduated from Yverdon, who should embody Sion. Constantin: “He is a local, his career has been crowned with success.”
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
